Francis Ledwidge’s short lyric captures a soldier traveling by ship through the Mediterranean toward war. Leaning at a window, he notices small flashes of life—wings of gold and green—moving through the sounds and cool shadows outside. The scene feels calm and almost dreamlike, full of color but also distance. He keeps listening, drawn to the world beyond the glass, yet the moment is not just outward. Something inside him is shifting too. The wandering attention settles into a “steadier will,” and the old restlessness gives way to a “newer song.” The mood is quiet and reflective, with a gentle melancholy underneath: a young man taking in beauty and stillness even as he moves closer to danger. It suggests acceptance rather than excitement or fear.
In the Mediterranean--Going to the War — Summary
Lovely wings of gold and green Flit about the sounds I hear, On my window when I lean To the shadows cool and clear.
Roaming, I am listening still, Bending, listening overlong, In my soul a steadier will, In my heart a newer song.